Just Like Old Times
by writer28
Summary: 1st of the second series with Rose and 10.5. The TARDIS is fully grown and ready to explore the whole of space and time, but what secrets hold them back? it seems Rose has a lot to tell her Doctor! Rated T for safety.
1. Chapter 1

"Just admit it Doctor you did." Rose said to him as they walked down the path.

It was an early Saturday afternoon and the Doctor and Rose had decided to go out for a walk and some lunch. They had just gorged themselves on cottage pie, the Doctor treated himself to a pint of Guinness, he had never really drunk alcohol from earth before, but he had to admit he quite liked it. Rose just had a coke; she wasn't really in the mood for a drink. As they walked through the calm forest hand in hand, they began to reminisce about old times.

"I didn't." he protested turning his head away from her, trying to hide the grin that was emerging on his face.

He had made it completely obvious that he was lying, but he still insisted that she was wrong.

"It's nothing to be ashamed of Doctor, everyone cried when Bambie's mother died."

"What makes you so sure you're right?" he quizzed her, his grin forming into a subtle laugh.

"You sent me out of the theatre to go and get you a tissue." She said, her intonation rising.

"Well Miss Tyler you wanted to go to the premier of the film, you had to make the sacrifices."

She laughed faintly at his stubbornness and the increasing embarrassment that could be witnessed on his reddening face. A few moments passed before anyone spoke again.

"So are you going to admit it?" Rose asked

The Doctor looked from the trail in front of him, to the sight of a rather smug smirk on Rose's face.

"I didn't"

"Arrgh, Doctor!" she exclaimed.

She looked back at him to find that cute teasing smile smudged across his face.

She slipped her hand out of the Doctor's, much to his disappointment, and stepped away from him slightly.

"Ok fine. If you won't admit it then there will be no handholding. No cuddles. No kisses. And definitely no sex." She vowed, before walking ahead of him slightly.

They were both trying their best not to laugh; neither of them were taking each other seriously. Of course Rose wouldn't hold his hand or kiss him until he confessed, but they both knew that he would at some point.

They continued walking for another 10 minuets or so, both occasionally looking at one another to see if the other was looking at them. They had somehow got themselves into one of those childish moods where they'd wind one another up until eventually one of them gave up; it was usually the Doctor who gave up first. He deviously slowly moved towards her, carefully looking at his surroundings to see if anyone was around. The path was isolated with only the two to them, and the occasional black squirrel, in sight. He took one last glance around before smirking to himself.

"Rose is a whiner" he shouted in a high pitch shriek.

Rose instantly turned to chase after him, knowing that he had already legged it. He was running off of the designated path into a group of closely knitted trees. Rose ran as fast as she could to try and catch up to him, but by the time she had entered the congregation of trees he was nowhere to be found.

She walked around slowly looking behind every tree to try and find him. She knew he'd be hiding somewhere waiting to be found. The Doctor was hiding behind a huge tree that was only a few metres away from her. He stood there in silence patiently waiting for his other half to get close enough. Eventually she did. She had her back to him, perfect, he thought to himself, as he got ready to pounce. As smoothly as he could the Doctor jumped from behind the tree and grabbed Rose by the waist, gently pulling her back towards the tree.

"You git." She giggled as she allowed him to softly press her against the trunk of the tree.

He kept his hands on her waist, keeping her against the there.

"You were saying?" he asked her mischievously.

"You were going to say?" she replied.

"You are so stubborn Rose Tyler."

"No you're just wrong Doctor." She said, a grin slipping across her face.

The Doctor returned the grin and tenderly placed his forehead against hers. He drew in a deep breath.

"Ok I admit it. I cried." He whispered.

He saw a wide beam of victory stretch across Rose's face.

"Mmm, I like a man who's not afraid to show his emotions."

The Doctor smirked at her as he lowered his head to meet her lips, touching them with a firm, warm kiss. Rose grabbed his hand as he pulled away, leading him back towards the path.

They kept on walking in comfortable silence, observing their surroundings. It was the sound of the Doctor's mobile ringing that broke the silence. The Doctor let Rose's hand slide out of his as he reached into his pocket for his phone. He pulled a face of disapproval at Rose as he realised who it was.

"It's your mother."

Rose chuckled at his reaction.

"Hello Jackie. Yeah, we're just out for a walk. What kind of noises? Ok I'll come and check on it now."

Rose gave him a puzzled expression as he hung up.

"The TARDIS is making noises we have to go and check on it. Your mother thinks it's going to explode."

Rose nodded her head in understanding until she realised what the Doctor had said.

"Explode?"

"Well, of course it's not going to explode Rose, but this is your mother we're talking about. She once thought a Cyberman was your granddad." He said, retrieving Rose's hand, before he started to walk back towards the car.

Rose raised her hand and slapped him gently on the arm.

"She wasn't to know," she protested.


	2. Chapter 2

The Doctor and Rose were stood at Jackie and Pete's front door, waiting for them to answer it. The Doctor grew impatient and began poking Rose's ribs purely to annoy her.

"Doctor!" she snapped at him.

He immediately stopped poking her, before leaning towards her ear.

"I love you," he whispered to her, a huge grin on his face.

"Oh no, you are not getting away with it that easily. The amount of times I've let things go because you've said that. Well, not this time Doctor."

She turned to him and prodded his chest with her finger and said in her grimmest voice.

"This time it's war."

The Doctor looked at her blankly for a second before bursting out into laughter. Rose glared at him and crossed her arms. Before anything else could be said Jackie, who seemed frantic and looked slightly worn out, opened the door.

"Sorry I know it took me a century to open the door." She said slightly breathless.

"You ok mum?" Rose asked her, entering the house.

"Yeah, fine. Just Tony's had sugar today."

"Ah I see." She said, nodding in understanding.

The Doctor looked over at Rose and smirked sexily at her, she knew exactly what he was up to.

"Stop it!"

"What's up with you two? You had an argument or summit?" Jackie asked, slightly confused at what the Doctor had actually done to upset her.

"Oh he just thinks he's funny." She told her mum, a slight grin turning her mouth up as she glanced over at him.

"Oh you two are in one of those childish moods. Well get over it I've got enough with one kid." She said, slightly demanding.

She walked out of the hallway just a Tony came screeching to a halt as he ran from the living room. He ran past Rose straight to the Doctor, who playfully scooped him up in his arms and tickled him.

"Err, hello Tony". Rose said, mockingly.

He turned his body to look at her before looking back at the Doctor, who began to whisper something in his ear. Grinning, Tony climbed out of the Doctor's embrace and held his arms up to Rose.

"Just saving the best to last, Rose." He said innocently, looking over at the Doctor to make sure that he had said what he was meant to.

The Doctor gave him a reassuring head nod, as Rose picked him up and planted a kiss on his cheek.

"You're a cheeky monkey you know that?" she said to him.

"And you're the best" he said again, glancing over at the Doctor.

"And the most beautiful" the Doctor added.

Rose looked over to him, raising one eyebrow. The Doctor looked at her, his eyes wide with confusion.

"What? You are." He insisted shrugging his shoulders.

She shook her head slightly, an amused smirk on her face, before releasing Tony and heading towards the kitchen. The Doctor walked closely behind her and dipped his head to her neck in an attempt to try and kiss it.

"I don't think so" she said a slight giggle in her voice, moving away from him.

He frowned slightly, he'd get her to cave in eventually, it was just her way of teasing him.

Jackie was already made cups of tea for everyone by the time they reached the kitchen.

"Where's Pete?" the Doctor asked.

"He's in the basement keeping his eye on the TARDIS." She replied.

"So what kind of noises is it making?" Rose questioned.

"You're better off hearing it for yourselves." She said, leading them out of the kitchen and towards the basement door.

As the Doctor and Rose slowly crept down the stairs, they heard the TARDIS creaking, as if it was about to fall apart. As they reached the bottom of the stairs they noticed that the sound was changing, within moments it was no longer creaking, but it was humming slightly. A huge grin passed across the Doctor's face, as he turned to Rose.

"Do you recognise that sound Rose?"

Rose stood still staring at the object the towered above her. It was beautifully lit up and she could feel tears threatening to fall as she admired it. So many memories and ideas were whirling around inside her head; she found it hard to control them all.

"Yeah, it… it's singin' right?"

"Yup, do you know why?" he asked her, putting his arm around her shoulders.

She remained still, continuing to look at it. She gently shook her head.

"It's calling for us." He told her, his voice a slight whisper.

"You mean it's calling for you." she corrected him, turning to look at the Doctor's beaming face.

He shook his head and took a breath.

"No, this TARDIS isn't just connected to me, it's connected to you too."

Rose looked confused.

"When the Doctor gave us this we took it and nestled it, grew it and cared for it. It knows that it's us who will be travelling with it. It knows our situation. And now it's calling out for both of us." He explained.

"What do you mean your situation?" Jackie asked, perched on a step at the bottom of the staircase.

"Well, it knows that we are an item, therefore it needs both of us."

"Actually when did you two get together? 'Coz you've never actually told us that you were a couple." Pete asked.

The Doctor and Rose looked at each before saying in unison.

"10th August 2008"

"Right, so you have talked about it. I'll put that on the calendar." Pete said, jokingly.

"So why is she singin'?" Rose asked the Doctor, dismissing Pete's remark.

"She's ready." He told her simply looking up at the TARDIS.

Jackie stood up on the step, a trace of anger on her face.

"So that's it, you leave her for two years then when she finds you again you just take her away from everything? Just like you did before?"

Rose felt an overwhelming sense of guilt, she hadn't actually talked to any of them about this, she just assumed they knew their plans as they were keeping the TARDIS in their house.

"Mum, he's not, this is what we both want. We've thought this through, talked it through so many times."

Jackie shook her head and sniggered.

"It won't be the same as last time Jackie. We'll be travelling but we still have a life here. Oh and FYI I didn't leave her we were separated."

"What about Torchwood?" Pete asked.

"Well we wanted to talk to you about that, we're not sure. Maybe cut down our hours or summit." She said, biting her nails nervously.

Jackie sniggered again before leaving the room. Pete rose from his seat and smiled at them weakly.

"I'll see what I can do."

He seemed to show more sympathy towards the two of them he knew how much they loved each other and how desperately they wanted their own lives back again. He left the room in an attempt to go and calm his wife.

The Doctor turned to Rose, the smile had gone and he too felt guilty.

"You ok?" he asked her.

"Yeah, fine. They'll come around right?

"Course they will." He reassured her, slipping his hand around her waist.

"Can't believe she's ready" Rose continued.

The Doctor smiled down at her, pulling her in closer. She tugged on the label of his jacket and pulled him down, capturing his lips in a slow passionate kiss.

"I knew you'd cave" he joked, as they pulled away.

Rose just laughed, pulling him closer to her for another kiss.


	3. Chapter 3

The Doctor and Rose approached the doorway of the kitchen, where Pete and Jackie were sat. They had taken cover in the basement for a while giving Jackie time to calm down.

"Mum?" Rose said, slowly walking towards her.

She felt so guilty and nervous; she didn't know whether she could actually take up a life of dashing between this world and travelling with the Doctor if it was going to make her mum like this.

"Mum, can't you please just be happy for us?"

Jackie looked up from the empty cup she was staring into she, looked more composed now. She smiled softly at them both.

"I knew from the start that if you had the chance you would find a way back to him, and you did. And I knew that if you could travel with him again you would, and you are."

She looked over at her daughter, she looked so confused, she couldn't quite grasp what her mother was trying to say. She stood up slowly and placed her hands on Rose's shoulders.

"After you were separated I watched you go through depression, I watched you cry every single day, I watched you hitting walls and cursing yourself for falling in love with him. Until eventually you became so determined that you were going to get back to him. It wasn't just you who went through that Rose it was me too. And I bet you haven't even told him all of this have you?" she asked rhetorically, her eyes welling up.

Jackie looked over at the Doctor, he too was welling up, he had no idea what Rose had been through in those two years. She had told him all about what she did to get back to him, but never what _she_ went through.

Tears began to fall from Rose's eyes as she listened to what her mum was saying.

"Mum please, he doesn't have to know this, he's here now, and that's all that matters right?"

"You wanted to share your life with him sweetheart, don't you think he has a right to know how much you really do love him?" Jackie replied.

Rose turned to face the Doctor; he was stood so still just looking down at her with a sense of understanding and anger in his eyes.

"I am so happy for you two, and want you to have that life, but it's dangerous. I just don't want you to go through that again. I don't want either of you to go through that."

Rose glanced back at Jackie; she didn't know what to say. She took it as an indication that she had to tell the Doctor about her life in those two years now, by the way she tugged on Pete's arm and led him out of the room into the garden where Tony was playing.

She looked back in the Doctor's direction but avoided eye contact with him.

"Why didn't you tell me?" he asked, his voice sounded angry and Rose looked up she saw that his teeth were clenched and his eyes were watery.

"I… I di…I didn't want you to know." She began to weep slightly.

The Doctor felt himself getting angrier, it wasn't that Rose never told him; it was that he never saw it. He'd loved her for so long and he didn't even think about what her life was like without him.

"Please don't look at me like that; I don't want you to be angry with me. Please." She began to plead with him.

A couple of stray tears began to roll down the Doctor's cheeks, he couldn't help it, he had no control over how much emotion he showed.

"I can't do this." She shouted before pushing past him and running out of the room.

The Doctor was left on his own, more tears escaping from his eyes. As he looked over towards the kitchen window he noticed the rest of the Tyler family silently observing his sadness, a very similar emotion was smeared across their faces. He walked out of the kitchen door and lent against the wall standing opposite them.

"Can you tell me what happened?" he asked them.

Pete turned to Jackie and took Tony from her arms. What was happening between Rose and the Doctor had upset him.

"He should know," he said to her.

Jackie nodded her head in agreement and led him to the end of the garden.

"She'd spend the whole day in bed just crying, she was like that for weeks." She began.

"We tried everything you could imagine, but nothing worked. Eventually she got out of bed and started going out a bit more, but she was getting worse. She never spoke to anyone, only you."

The Doctor looked at her in puzzlement.

"She used to talk to nobody, she used to think that maybe if you tried to listen close enough you could hear her."

The Doctor started to chuckle to himself even though he was still crying.

"He used to do the same. When he was alone in the TARDIS he'd talk to her, hoping she could hear him, even though he knew that she couldn't," he confessed.

"You Doctor, I don't want you to refer to him, it's you now. You did that." She said to him, allowing him to fully be himself and not feel like second best.

He smiled at her kindness, Jackie Tyler the scariest and sweetest woman in the world.

"So what happened next?" he eventually asked her.

"Are you sure you want to hear this?"

He hesitated for a moment before nodding and waiting for her to continue.

"She became so depressed, lost all hope, she got ill. One day I came home and…" she began to cry as she tried to gain the courage to tell him.

The Doctor gently put his arm around her shoulders to reassure her that it was ok, he now realised how serious Rose's condition was.

"She tried to kill herself," she finally blurted out.


	4. Chapter 4

The Doctor could swear that he felt his heart stop beating as he heard Jackie say those words. He suddenly felt numb and the pit of his stomach was twisting and turning causing him to feel as if he was about to vomit. Jackie remained quietly crying in his arms, feeling the same pain as she had during those two years was an excruciating emotion to relive.

"Wh…what?" The doctor finally asked.

Jackie could tell that he was heartbroken by the faintness of his croaky voice. She managed to calm herself down; wiping away the tears she took the Doctor's hand in hers.

"She was just depressed Doctor. But it's over now, she's better." She tried to reassure him.

She noticed how much the Doctor was crying, silent tears were streaming down his burning cheeks.

"So what, she was just wanted to die, no thought for anyone else, no thought that she could build a life here?" he began questioning her through gritted teeth.

He began to feel angry again, but he couldn't figure out whether it was himself he was angry with or Rose.

"She needed you Doctor!"

She was starting to raise her voice at him, she knew this wasn't really his fault, but she feared that after knowing about this he might leave her and she knew that Rose couldn't cope with that. She couldn't cope with that.

"She loved you so much that she felt she just couldn't live her life without you in it, what is wrong with that?" she continued.

He stood up his eyes were wide and his breathing had become quicker and deeper.

"She could have died Jackie, that's what's wrong with it" he spat.

He took a deep breath and closed his eyes, trying to stop the constant flow of tears. He sat back down next to her and tried to put his hand on her shoulder. She moved away, unable to look at him.

"I'm sorry I shouldn't have yelled at you. It's just… you get told something like that about someone you love and…"

He placed his head in his hands, unable to find the words to finish his sentence. After a few moments had passed he felt a hand wrap around the top of his arm. He turned to Jackie to find her faintly smiling at him, her eyes glazed.

"So, what made her so determined to find me?" he eventually asked.

"Well, once she got out of hospital and her health improved, she started working for Torchwood. And then…"

"What Jackie? What happened?

"You came to say goodbye." She smiled.

The Doctor thought for a moment, before his eyes widened in understanding.

"Bad Wolf Bay"

"Once you said that you couldn't see each other again, she decided to disagree." She began to chuckle lightly.

The Doctor chuckled too.

"Rose Tyler, the most stubborn person I know."

There was a comfortable silence between the two of them for a moment as they reflected on the way things had planned out for The Doctor and Rose.

"I just can't believe she found you again. But I guess that's love for ya." Jackie began to chuckle again.

The Doctor nodded his head in agreement.

"What you going to do now?" she asked him, waiting in anticipation for his reply.

"I think I'll go and see her, let her know that it's ok."

"You still love her then?"

He turned his head to face her and gave her a wide smile.

"How could I not?"

She returned his smile and gave him a peck on the cheek before walking back towards the house.

The Doctor took a few moments to gather his thoughts and take a few deep breaths. His anger had subsided, all he wanted to do now was hold Rose and tell her that nothing she could ever do will stop him being in love with her.

He walked back towards the house, trying to think how he was going to put his words. He walked through the empty kitchen, assuming that the rest of the family had retreated to the living room. He walked through to the living room door and slowly opened it. Pete and Jackie were sat quietly snuggled up on the coach watching Tony play with his toy cars.

"Do you know where…?"

"In her old room." Pete interrupted him.

He walked out leaving them in silence. As he reached the top of the staircase he began to feel nervous, and an ocean of questions was swirling through his mind. What if she rejected him? What if she thought that they couldn't make it through this? What if she became depresses again? He tried to ignore these nagging thoughts and carried on until he stopped outside Rose's bedroom door. He leant forwards and gently knocked on the smooth wood. There was not reply.

"Rose?"

It sounded as if she was shuffling around slightly, but she still hadn't answered the Doctor's knock.

"Rose I'm coming in." he told her, waiting a moment thinking that she might protest.

As he gradually opened the door he saw Rose's tear soaked face glance up at him from the bed she was sat on, before looking away again. He went over to her and knelt by her side, placing his hands on her knees. He studied her face for a moment before he broke the silence.

"I wish I could erase the last two years and replace them with happy memories. I wish I could tell you that I love you and that would make everything all right."

He took another deep breath before saying what he truly felt.

"I wish I could be the man you want me to be."

Rose roughly turned her head to face him, taken aback at what he had just said. She leant closer to him and hooked him by the back of his neck to pull him closer to her.

"You a_re_ what I want," she whispered to him forcefully.

"And just for the record I'm glad it happened, 'coz if it hadn't I might not have found you again."

She pressed her head against his and wrapped her arms around his neck.

"I may have gone through all of that, but what I gained was _so_ worth it."

The Doctor faintly smiled up at her, placing his arms around her waist and gently caressing her back.

"I just don't understand why you couldn't have told me." He sighed.

"And say what? Oh I love you Doctor and hope we can share a life together, but oh did I mention that I tried to kill myself?"

Her tone was sarcastic and light hearted, she wanted to lift the atmosphere within the household and she knew that she was the only one who could do that. The Doctor chuckled gently, moving closer to her and tightening his hold around her waist.

"But why Rose?"

She looked intensely at him for a moment, before a petite smile emerged from the sides of her mouth.

"Because I love you."

"That's what your mum said."

"I think that's why she's accepted us so easily, 'coz she knows."

There was a moments silence before the Doctor began to talk again.

"Do… do you think it'll happen again?" he stuttered slightly.

"No!" she answered without hesitation, a sense of certainty in her voice.

She cheekily poked her tongue out between her teeth in a sweet smile.

"Not unless you're planning on leaving me."

The Doctor looked up at her returning a mischievous smirk and raising one eyebrow slightly. He lifted himself up a little, softly pushing Rose back so she was lay down on the bed. He tenderly positioned himself so that he was hovering slightly above her.

"Mmm… never." He said, resting a firm smile shaped kiss on her lips.

The kiss was a relief for both of them, they had been through so much together, and they could make it through this too.

Rose ran her fingers through his hair as she pulled his lips harder against hers, eventually opening her mouth a little to let him in. The Doctor grabbed Rose's free hand and entwined his fingers with hers. The kiss became passionate and needy. They needed this time to be close to each other to explore each other's mind and body. However, what they had forgotten was that this is nearly impossible when at the parents place, as they were soon to learn. It seemed that they were too engaged in the moment to hear the creak of the door opening, and too infatuated with each other to hear the sound of Jackie's voice whispering their names.

"Rose? Doctor? Everything ok?" she asked creeping through the door.

She was met with a sight of their intertwined bodies, hands feeling every inch of each other's upper torsos and snogging furiously like it was their last time.

"Oh my… sorry." She squealed as she rushed out of the room, unsure of how to handle the situation.

The Doctor and Rose stopped at the sound of her squeal and looked at each other, before bursting out into fits of giggles. They tried to keep as quite as possible so not to annoy Jackie further. Jackie stood by the wall outside of the room, debating with herself whether to walk away or go back in and confront them. It was only when she heard the door creaking open again that she realised she had waited too long to make her decision. She heard the Doctor and Rose quietly bickering with each other.

"Well go on then." The Doctor urged.

"What? Why should I go first?" Rose questioned him.

There was a moment of silence, Jackie found herself getting annoyed with the pair of them. One minute it was devastation and tears and the next they were all over each other, and in her house!

"She's your mother"

"Oh just go" she ordered him, pushing him out of the door.

His eyes met Jackie's, he could see she was wound up by the tense and cross-armed posture she was presenting. The disapproving frown on her face scared him slightly. Rose quickly followed him out and was confronted by the same glare. They looked at each other, trying to mentally decide who was going to talk first.

"Sorry Jackie" the Doctor mumbled dropping his head slightly.

"Sorry mum" Rose followed.

"You two are unbelievable. Here I am worried sick about the pair of you, coming to see if you are ok. And what do I find? The pair of you snogging like randy teenagers." She bellowed to them.

The Doctor and Rose glanced sideways to each other trying not to laugh.

"It's not funny!" Jackie insisted.

They immediately straightened their faces and looked back at the floor. They heard the sound of Pete's voice calling from the stairs; he had heard the commotion and was coming to see if everything was all right.

"Jacks what's going on?" he asked reaching the top of the stairs and finding them all stood looking at him.

"What?" he asked uncomfortable by the stares he was receiving.

"It's him" she exclaimed.

They Doctor screwed up his face and shaped his lips as if he was about to say 'what?'

"What's he done?"

"He was smothering Rose with his tongue down her throat." She explained.

"Mum!" Rose shouted at her annoyed.

"Well Jacks they are a couple now, come on leave them be they're not kids."

He grabbed her hand and pulled her towards the stairs, she struggled away before turning back to them.

"So are you ok now?"

"We're fine mum." Rose smiled.

"And what about the travelling?" she asked with a look of sorrow in her eyes.

The Doctor and Rose looked at each other before moving towards her.

"We're still gonna go mum." She told her

"But… what if…" she began.

The Doctor leant forward and gently clutched her shoulders; he leant in closer to her ear and whispered something to her. Pete and Rose looked at each other, wondering what he was saying. As he pulled away Jackie smiled gave him a faint vague smile.

"Ok" she said, taking his hand and squeezing it.

Pete and Rose looked at each other again in confusion. Pete found himself being gently pushed so that he'd walk down the stairs. The Doctor turned back to Rose and gave her his signature grin.

"What was that all about?" she asked him.

"Ah, just working my charm Miss Tyler."

She laughed at him before he roughly pulled her close to him and kissed the top of her head.

"Listen Doctor, I … I just want you to know that you're not second best and that I do really love _you_"

"I know" he smiled down at her.

"So, when can we start travelling again?" he asked her, bobbing up and down slightly like a child on a sugar high.

She giggled at him slightly.

"We've got things to sort out first."

"Like what?"

She rolled her eyes at his naivety. He still needed to grasp the full throttle of human life, bills, families and jobs.

"Well, we've got our jobs for starters, then there's mum and dad and not forgetting Tony. We've got bills and that to pay before we go anywhere."

He held his hand up to stop her from speaking.

"Rose I think you're forgetting that the TARDIS travels in time, we'll just come back when the bills are due. Simple"

"Not with you piloting it it's not, have you forgotten all of the trouble you've gotten us into because _you've_ got it wrong." She exclaimed, poking his chest.

The Doctor rubbed the spot where she poked him.

"Well…" he began, not quite sure where he was going with the rest of his protest.

Rose laughed at him again. He shook his head and pulled her in capturing her lips in a lighthearted kiss.

"Can we at least go and see what it's like on the inside?" he begged her, as he pulled away.

A huge grin spread across Rose's face as she grabbed his hand and headed towards the stairs.

"Come on then."


	5. Chapter 5

The Doctor and Rose rushed down the stairs giggling like hyperactive children.

"What's going on?" Jackie asked as they reached the bottom of the stairs.

They both beamed a smile at her, slightly breathless and giddy from the excitement of it all.

"We're going to look inside the TRADIS" Rose exclaimed eagerly.

"Won't it be the same as the other one?"

"Nope. This is a completely new TARDIS. It looks the same on the outside but on the inside it's built specifically around Rose and me. Can't wait to see what she's made of herself," The Doctor explained.

"Is it really built around us?" Rose asked him, surprised by just how technical the TARDIS was.

The Doctor nodded his head before grinning at her again.

"Every little bit."

"Well, come on then what are you stood there fore? Let's go and see it." Jackie ordered, walking towards the stairs behind the Doctor and Rose.

"Wait, what about Tony?" Pete exclaimed slightly concerned that it might frighten him.

They all looked at one another, nobody wanted to answer. Finally, Jackie spoke.

"I think he should see."

Pete widened his eyes.

"What? And what if he freaks out?"

" Rose and the Doctor are a big part of his life, if they're going to be coming and going he deserves to know what they're doing." She argued.

The Doctor and Rose looked at each other guiltily. They were an enormous part of his life, he adored both of them, they could only hope that he'd get used to them not being around as much.

"We're not going to be able to make things up forever, there will come a day when he'll want to know the truth. We might as well start now."

Pete looked from Jackie to Rose and the Doctor. They were eagerly watching his expressions to try and predict what he would say next.

"Ok, fine. Tony." He called.

Tony came rushing from the living room towards where they were all congregated.

He stood still between the Doctor and Rose and looked towards Pete searching for an answer to why he had been summoned. He didn't give him any, but looked towards Jackie asking her to explain. She looked back at him and rolled her eyes. Honestly men! She knelt down to Tony's level and took his hand to pull him closer to her.

"Sweetheart, we are all going to go down to the basement and look at that machine the Doctor and Rose have been growing." She gently explained.

He looked at her blankly for a moment.

"What is it?" he asked her.

Jackie looked up at Rose asking her to explain, Rose smiled gently before also kneeling down.

"Do you remember when me and mum went away for a while, when we went to find the Doctor?"

He nodded at her, listening carefully.

"Well it's a bit like the machine I used to do that, it travels through space and time," she continued.

"Oh. Why did you need to find the Doctor?" he asked innocently looking down at her.

Rose stuttered slightly, before looking up at the Doctor, asking him to help her out. He too knelt down to Tony's level.

"Well Tony, we used to travel together. But one day we got separated." The Doctor began, occasionally looking nervously at Rose and Jackie, hoping that he didn't say anything that they didn't want him to know yet.

"What happened?"

There was a moment of silence; only the birds chirping and the occasional dodgy pipe churning could be heard.

"It's a long story." The Doctor told him.

He stood back up, Rose and Jackie followed. Tony looked up at their slightly saddened faces and he knew whatever had happened was a very sad thing. He tugged at the bottom of the Doctor's jacket. The Doctor looked down at his wide, curious eyes.

"Can you tell me one day, Doctor?"

The Doctor looked at everyone else, before looking back down at him.

"One day, yeah."

"You got any other stories about travelling with Rose that you can tell me?" he asked smiling up at him.

"Plenty" the Doctor smiled back.

As they made their way to the basement, Tony safely in Pete's arms, both the Doctor and Rose began to feel nervous as they heard the TARDIS gently humming. They reached the bottom of the stairs and stood outside of the TRADIS doors. Rose gently grasped the Doctor's hand and he softly smiled down at her.

"Ready?" he asked her.

She nodded at him excitedly and together they very slowly pushed the doors open.

The tension that had built was thick and everyone waited in anticipation. After what felt like hours of waiting the doors were open, everyone gasped, as they saw… nothing!

The Doctor and Rose looked at each other confused. Surely this wasn't it.

"Doctor, where the hell is our TARDIS?"


	6. Chapter 6

The Doctor stepped towards the empty box, a look of confusion and sorrow on his face. He stepped into the hollow space and turned back to look at heart-rending faces of the Tyler family.

"I don't get it" he protested.

Rose also walked towards the box and began to stroke the doorframe. It was a comfort to know that it was real but also a heartbreak knowing that the space inside held nothing but darkness. This wasn't what she had imagined.

"She was singing, calling to us, telling us that she was ready. So why, why the hell is she empty?" he continued.

Rose moved closer to him and placed her hand on the top of his arm, gently stroking it in an act to try and comfort him.

"Maybe we didn't do things properly, you know so she couldn't completely grow or summit." She said, not quite sure if what she had just said made any sense.

"Rose I think I know how to grow a TARDIS" he snapped at her.

Rose stepped back slightly, taken aback by his insensitive tone of voice. He saw her remove her hand from his arm and move away slightly. He looked down at her face; she was just as upset as he was, although now she looked slightly embarrassed.

"Sorry" he sighed apologetically.

She looked up at him and gave him a faint smile. Jackie moved towards the box and stepped inside next to the Doctor and Rose and studied it carefully.

"So what are you two going to do now?" Pete asked them.

"Don't know" the Doctor replied, staring down at the floor.

Rose thought about how sad he looked, she wished she could make this dream of theirs a reality, but that was the only piece of coral they were given and it didn't work. It was over! The room became silent, everyone except Jackie staring down at the ground.

"Well you can tell you two are made for each other" Jackie exclaimed, causing everyone to snap out of their glum thoughts and try and work out where that statement had come from.

"What?" Rose creased her brow in question.

"You're both idiots"

The Doctor and Rose looked at each other, slightly offended by her comment. They looked at her for a moment staring into the eyes that stared right back at them but gave no indication to what she was on about.

"Please continue Jackie," the Doctor urged, sneeringly

"Well had you cared to actually look inside this thing, you would have noticed this." A slight smirk appeared on her face a she pushed against the wall nearest to her.

The Doctor and Rose raised their eyebrows in surprise as they realised that it wasn't actually a wall at all.

"It's a door!" the Doctor exclaimed excitedly, moving towards it.

"Why does it have another door?" Rose asked even more confused.

The Doctor spun round on his heels to face her, a manic grin on his face.

"Must be a security thing, the door's camouflaged so that we're safe inside and any enemies or passers by think that it's empty."

"But why?"

The Doctor looked at her for a moment not answering her question, he opened his mouth to speak, then closed it again and wrinkled his brow.

"You know what Rose? I don't know," he told her, before turning back to the door.

Rose looked over to Pete and Tony who both looked totally puzzled and then to Jackie who gently smiled at her. She shook her head slightly before joining the Doctor in front of the door.

"This TARDIS is going to be very different, isn't it Doctor" it wasn't a question, but a statement that she knew was true.

"I think it is, Rose" he nodded.

She grasped at his hand, as he slowly pushed the open. In front of them they saw what looked like a hallway, softly lit by lights that lined the wall. The Doctor took in a deep breath.

"Yes, very different indeed."

"Come on then" the Doctor said leading Rose into the hallway, her hand still firmly grasped in his.

The hallway wasn't very long and with the rest of the Tylers following closely behind, they reached their first room. Rose gasped as she took in the format of the room.

"Oh my God. Doctor, look at this." She exclaimed looking around the room.

"I know" he replied, slightly calmer than Rose.

They had entered the control room, and even though the layout was very similar it was also very different. The control panel was still placed in the centre of the room, its lights were glowing yellow, orange and red. There were two sections to the panel, meaning that it needed two pilots. The Doctor realised that he was going to have to teach Rose how to fly the TARDIS. The floor beneath them was a thick jet back with specks of silver smeared across it. It looked beautiful, like looking down into space. Very appropriate, thought the Doctor. The walls were cream with circular lights placed neatly across them; they lit the room well, but also not too harshly. There were also seats dotted around the room, they were smart looking and placed spaciously throughout the room. They were black and looked like they were cushioned. After silently observing for a while, the Doctor looked over to Rose, who still looked around in amazement; he had to admit it was wonderful. She caught his gaze and smiled at him.

"It's amazing" she grinned at him.

"Wanna see the rest?"

She nodded and then turned to look at the others. They seemed to be focusing more on the Doctor and Rose than the room itself, apart from Tony who seemed to be looking around with his mouth wide open. This was a lot for a child of his age to take in.

"You coming?" she asked.

"Why don't you two go on ahead, we'll take a look around later." Jackie told her, realising that this was something that they need to do on their own.

Rose simply nodded at her, giving her a grateful smile, before allowing herself to be lead away down the corridor.

The first door they approached was to their right; the door was a light brown and went well with the colour of the walls, which were similar to the walls in the control room.

The Doctor opened the door in anticipation; they had no idea what each room was or how many rooms there even were. As a slither of the room behind the door was being shown Rose began to show her excitement as a slight squeal left her mouth. The Doctor stopped and looked down at her; she could do nothing but bury her face into the side of his chest as he chuckled slightly.

"Composed?" he asked.

He felt her nod her head into his chest as he pulled her slightly closer to him and chuckled again. They entered the room, Rose kept her face hidden in the Doctor's chest, she didn't really know why, part of her wanted to be that close to him, another part didn't want to look in the room in case she it turned out not to be real.

"Rose look, I promise you won't be disappointed." He nudged her slightly to get her to look.

As she looked up she gasped again, just like she had done with the last room.

"It's beautiful."

She looked up at the Doctor to find his face beaming with what seemed like a mixture of joy and pride. The room, which appeared to be a living room, was neatly set out with a black cushioned sofa, two other cushioned chairs, a soft wooden coffee table, TV, DVD player, radio and CD player. The cream walls and burgundy carpet gave the room a very cosy feel to it. As Rose looked around she noticed something magnificent on the other side of the room.

"Oh that is going to lead to some very romantic evenings." She giggled slightly.

As the Doctor looked in her direction a very smug grin appeared across his face.

"Oh, good girl" the Doctor exclaimed.

"I assume you were talking to the TARDIS there." Rose questioned him, raising her eyebrow.

"Of course" he said, studying the marvellous masterpiece.

Rose smirked as she strolled over to where he was stood. She slowly and softly placed her arms around his waist and moved in close to him.

"So did you secretly ask for a fireplace, Doctor?" she whispered onto the back of his neck, the feel of her breath causing him to close his eyes.

"Well, I might have mentioned it."

She placed a smile shaped kiss on the back of his neck and moved her hands up to rub his shoulders.

"Nice work" she chuckled, snuggling her nose into the back his neck.

"I thank you" he joked in a strange voice, turning around to meet her gaze.

He grabbed her hand and dragged her away to explore the remaining rooms.

As they continued their journey down the corridor, they began to reminisce about old times again. They spoke about the other TARDIS and how different it looked to this one. Eventually they reached another door. It was the same as the previous one; it was Rose who had the honours of opening it this time. As they entered the room they realised it was a bedroom. There was a big double bed in the middle of the room and bedside tables complete with lamps on either side of it. The rest of the room was full with a wardrobe and draws. The room was decorated in white and a soft oak coloured brown.

"These rooms are so beautifully decorated." Rose said.

"I know they're incredible."

An en- suit bathroom extended off of the back of the room. It was similarly decorated to the bedroom, with white facilities and walls and a soft brown carpet. It was spacious enough for the two of them to get ready at the same time, but not too big that it took up unnecessary space.

" I like the fact that the living room, with the fireplace, is next door to the bedroom. That was some smart thinking." He stated a craftily.

"Stop it." she told him, playfully hitting his arm.

She wondered over to the bed and sat on it, seeing how comfortable it was.

"Ooo, very nice" she smiled.

She waved the Doctor over to come and join her.

"Ooo" he smirked as he sat down.

"Nice, innit?"

"Very nice indeed" he assured as he then down.

"Come on!" Rose yelled as she headed for the door.

"We can try out the bed later" she winked at him.

He got up and joined Rose out in the corridor. They could see two more doors and a staircase ahead of them.

The next door they approached was the same as the others, the Doctor and Rose walked in together, that excitement of seeing a new room for the first time didn't seem to get old.

They had entered the kitchen, it was quiet spacious and had a lovely round table in the middle of it. The room was lined with units and attractive facilities that Rose hoped she wouldn't have to use too much. The surfaces looked like black marble and the cupboards were white. Rose rifled through the cupboards to see how much space was in them, she thought that maybe they were also bigger on the inside. She found herself slightly disappointed as she found that they were just ordinary cupboards. The Doctor and Rose left the kitchen and made their way up the gold spiral stair- case. The first room they came across was, what seemed to be, a spare room. It was simply decorated with only a single bed and wardrobe.

"No bathroom in this one" Rose pointed out.

"Only the Lord and Lady get the luxury of an en-suit." He smiled at her.

"Do you think we'll have people travelling with us?" she asked him.

"I'm not bringing your mother along if that's what you're thinking." He insisted, defensively placing his hands deep into his pockets.

Rose chuckled, before beginning to question him again.

"So, then why do we have a spare room?"

The Doctor's eyes softened, they probably would have someone travelling with them at some point, but his theory and the gentle hum from the TARDIS told him a different story. He moved towards her and cupped her head with his hands.

"Time will tell" he told her gently, and placed a soft kiss on the top of her head.

Rose looked confused, but quickly got over it as they headed towards the next room. The next three rooms were all bedrooms, holding a similar format to the first.

"Looks like we've got mum, dad and Tony with us." She giggled.

"Oh I'll take tiny Tyler, but not the other two"

"Those two being my parents, and your…"

She didn't finish her sentence; it felt a bit rushed calling them his in- laws. Technically by law they weren't, but then again they were. He smiled down at her, a smile that allowed her to relax.

"Well, you've got to choose your passengers carefully." He told her, pulling her along to the next door.

As they were about to walk through another wooden frame, they heard the sound of Tony's voice calling out to them.

"Doctor, Rose." He called.

The Doctor crouched down and held his arms out to the small boy, who gladly jumped into them, hugging the Doctor.

"This place is amazing" Jackie said, trying to catch up.

"Isn't it just" Rose agreed.

"Did you want to reveal what's behind the next door, Tony?" the Doctor asked him.

He enthusiastically nodded his head, and climbed down to open the door.

"Books" he shouted as he ran into the room.

The others quickly followed and found that the room was a library. It wasn't packed and old looking like Rose had expected. But it was spacious, neat and modern looking. There were a couple of tables and some sofas dotted around, the feel of the room was calm and relaxed, a good place to come and unwind. After a root around at the books the TARDIS had provided, they continued their tour. There were only a few rooms left; they found two bathrooms a gym and a small green area with a pond. The Doctor and Rose stayed in the green room for a while, just looking into the pond, trying to take everything in. Jackie and Tony sat down on a near by bench, discussing just how cool Tony thought the TARDIS was.

"I've got something for you" the Doctor said, turning to meet Rose's eyes.

He pulled out two keys from his pockets, they were neatly tied to pieces of royal blue string and the key itself was a bright baby blue.

"Even the key's beautiful. But where did you get it? I thought we'd have to fix the lock ourselves?" she quizzed.

The Doctor shook his head.

"No, that's too dangerous. Anybody could get a copy if we did that, these are unique, only one lock that fits these keys an there's only a certain amount of keys that will fit the lock."

"How many are there?"

"Five. They're in a small hidden cupboard on the way in, the TARDIS gave me these ones." he replied.

She stood still as she let the Doctor placed the string around her neck, and watched as he put the other around his own.

"We can only take these off to shower and sleep, we can't keep them lying around." He told her.

"Fair enough."

They tucked their keys safely underneath their clothes and looked at one another.

"So, what do you think?" the Doctor asked, breaking the silence.

"I love it! You?"

"Love it!" he replied.

He took her hand and led her to another bench across the other side of the pond. They sat down in silence, observing their beautiful surroundings. They saw Jackie and Tony on the other side, Tony looked tired now, and he was due for his nap soon. Jackie gently cradled him as she looked over in their direction and smiled at them.

"Do you remember that night when we went to see the 2012 Olympics and I got trapped in that picture?" the Doctor asked Rose, interrupting her thoughts.

"Yeah"

"You said we'd always be alright, us two, that we'd never be split up." He continued, a look of sadness in his eyes.

"Yeah, guess I was wrong."

"Well do you still feel that way?"

"I don't understand," she told him, puzzled.

"Do you think we'll be ok? I mean yes we were torn apart but look where we are now. Or do you feel that you and the Doctor are still apart and I'm…"

He looked away from Rose and fixed his gaze on the ground.

"Doctor we've been through this. You're not second best you're still you."

She moved closer to him and placed her hand on the back of his neck, and stroked it soothingly.

"I don't know what the future will hold for us, but I think we'll be together until the day comes that… that death parts us." She told him in an easing.

The Doctor smiled a soft smile up at her.

"So you're sure you want this?" he asked.

"I want this for us."

"Me too."

He leaned in and kissed her softly at first, but soon the kiss became more passionate and affectionate. They both seemed to forget that Jackie and a now disgusted Tony were sat opposite them. And just as Rose opened her mouth to let him in she felt the disapproving presence of her mother lingering behind her. She broke away and looked into the Doctor's disappointed eyes.

"What's wrong?" he asked her.

Rose tilted her head back, indicating to the Doctor to look behind her.

"Ah. Hi Jackie, we were just err… talking." He stuttered slightly nervously.

"Mmm I can see that." she said, her arms folded around her chest.

"Where's dad anyway." Rose asked, feeling guilty that she hadn't noticed earlier.

"He had to make a call to Torchwood. I'm going to put Tony down for a nap, you two coming or staying in here?"

"We'll stay, won't be long." The Doctor replied, grinning up at her.

She walked away with a small smile on her face, it didn't matter how much she disapproved of them being all lovey dovey in front of her, she had to admit they were sweet together.

The Doctor and Rose remained seated and joked about Jackie and her reaction to their relationship.

"I wanted to talk to you about what I found out earlier" the Doctor stated in a more serious tone.

"Can't we just forget about it Doctor? You know what happened and I just don't want to let it get in the way." She urged, trying to get him to move on.

" We won't, but I just need to know that it won't happen again. I've just got you back, I don't want to lose you again."

"It won't happen again, I promise."

He believed her and decided that it was time to let it go.

"Can I have another kiss?" he asked her.

She pulled him in and they shared another passionate kiss, and that's where they stayed for the next half hour.


	7. Chapter 7

"Did you want to go out tonight, just for a celebratory drink of somethin'?" Jackie asked the Doctor and Rose, who were now sat happily at the kitchen table, enjoying a cup of tea with Pete.

"That sounds nice, what do you think Doctor?"

"Mmm, sounds great" he nodded his head in agreement.

"What time did you wanna go? We don't want to keep Tony up too late." Rose asked her mum, she knew her brother would only get ratty if he got too tired.

" About 7 should be fine. He's still asleep so he should be ok."

"Ok, we'll go soon and get sorted, then we'll meet back here?"

Jackie held her thumb up and nodded her head; the Doctor never thought that Jackie would be one to put her thumb up at someone.

"So is the TARDIS completely ready then?" Pete asked the Doctor.

"Nearly, there's just a few minor adjustments to be done and then she'll be ready."

"Like what?" Rose questioned.

He turned his head to face her and gently put his arm on the back of her chair, that small gesture always made Rose feel so much more secure.

"Well we need to connect an alarm from the control room to the other rooms. 'Coz if something goes wrong and we're asleep or something she might not be able to wake us up, so better to be safe then sorry. We need to put some gear in there you know cloths and that. Oh and some maintenance checks just to make sure she's ok."

"Right then, nothing major. And can you handle all that?" Rose half joked; the other half was a bit concerned by how much had to be done, and most of which she had no idea where to start.

"Well, I may need help putting in all your cloths and make- up. But I think my 900 years of TARDIS flying might just see me through." He stated sarcastically.

Rose jabbed her elbow into his side, causing him to flinch slightly, before chuckling a little and pulling her closer to kiss her forehead.

"How long do you think that'll take?" Pete continued to quiz.

"A couple of weeks I guess, not that long. But we've got things to sort here first before we go flying off. Apparently." He mumbled the last word to himself, causing Rose to give him a dirty look. He flashed her a cheeky grin, which she tried her best to ignore.

"Ok, fair enough." Pete replied, before going into deep thought.

The Doctor and Rose looked at each other in puzzlement.

Everyone was knocked out of their silence as they heard a tiny voice calling from upstairs.

"Mummy" Tony called again, making his way down the stairs.

Jackie rushed out of the room to go and get him.

She came back into the room, holding a now refreshed young boy.

"Feel better now you've had your sleep Tony?" Rose asked, offering him a soft smile.

He nodded at her then climbed down from Jackie's arms and made his way over to Rose. He scrambled onto her knee and began to muck around with the Doctor. Jackie began to frantically tidy round, while Pete remained staring in silence.

"Come on Tony, it's time for a bath. We're going out tonight." She said eventually.

He gave her a scornful look before climbing from Rose's lap to the Doctor's. Tony looked up at his face; the Doctor was looking down at him with a disapproving eyebrow raised. It seemed that every time Tony was scared or just didn't want to do something he'd go to the Doctor, he seemed to feel safe and protected with him, and Rose couldn't blame him. Rose looked at her mother; it had been a stressful day, as joyous as it had turned out, and she looked a bit tired.

"How about if me and the Doctor give you a bath? Then mummy can sit down for five minuets." She suggested.

Tony looked from Rose to the Doctor then to his mother. He nodded before making his way to the bathroom.

"Thanks" Jackie breathed, relieved that she wouldn't have to deal with any tantrums.

The Doctor and Rose walked out of the kitchen leaving Pete being hit around the head for just sitting there and not offering to help her.

"What have you done?" the Doctor asked Rose shoving her slightly.

"What?" came her shocked response.

"You volunteered us to bath a young child, have you any idea how difficult that can be?"

She stopped in her tracks and turned to look at him, she was trying to be serious, but one look at his mischievous face and it all failed.

"Hold on, you're telling me you can fight the toughest aliens in the whole of time and space but you can't bath a small child?"

"Well, that lad is a lot like your mother, so bless him he's… well he's no ordinary child." He joked.

Rose slapped him on the arm, moving aside slightly as the Doctor passed her to go up the stairs. She was somewhat surprised by this, for a guy who once swore that he didn't do domestics was now rushing up the stairs to bath her brother. Times had changed a bit.

Rose had somehow managed to get Tony undressed and in the bathtub. The Doctor stood back observing in silence, apart from the occasional outburst of laughter when Tony did something that he found funny.

"Play?" Tony asked looking up at their faces.

"How can you play in a bath?" The Doctor asked in confusion.

Rose gave him a playful smile as she pulled some rubber ducks and what looked like an action man out of a near by basket.

"Here we go, you've got 5 minutes ok?" Rose said, passing him the toys.

He simply nodded in reply before attempting to drown a rubber duck. Rose gazed at the Doctor, who was just sat still watching the small boy play.

"I bet you wanna play don't cha?" she finally asked, breaking the Doctor's watch.

"It does look interesting " he joked

"You ok?" she asked taking his hand.

She had noticed that his gaze had deepened, as if he was in deep thought and almost craving something.

"Yeah, fine. Just thinking that's all" he replied with a weak smile.

"What about?"

"Oh, wouldn't you like to know Miss Tyler" he said, tapping her nose with his index finger.

She fixed her eyes on him for a moment, it was obvious that something was on his mind, but why wouldn't he talk to her?

"Duck!" Tony shouted in anger.

The Doctor and Rose rapidly turned their heads to see what the problem was. They found him sat with his arms crossed and a frown on his face.

"What was all that about?" Rose asked him kneeling down beside the bath.

"It won't go under"

"That's because it's meant to float" the Doctor pointed out, settling down next to Rose.

Tony flashed him a dirty look, before laughing at a funny face the Doctor had pulled at him.

"Come let's wash your hair, we've got to go out soon" Rose told him, hoping to get his mind off of the duck.

"Where we going?" he unknowingly asked.

"To that pub you like, you know with the disco and cherry pop."

"Daddy's cherry pop" Tony replied, innocently smiling up at her.

She glanced over at the Doctor, who looked slightly baffled.

"Dad did a children's range as well," she explained.

He nodded in understanding, as Rose lay her brother down to wash his hair.

"Err… Rose, could… could I do that?" he stuttered, pointing to Tony's head.

Rose looked at him surprised, what on earth was going on?

"You want to wash his hair?"

The Doctor nodded in reply. Rose moved away so that he could take over. He didn't really want to admit to himself why he wanted to wash a child's hair, but he knew that he was a different man now, and he couldn't just run away from things that scared him, even though it was something that one day he wanted.

Once Tony was bathed and dressed, The Doctor and Rose went home to get sorted themselves.

"See you soon" Rose called out as she closed the door behind them.

"Happy?" the Doctor asked, clutching her hand as they walked towards the car.

The sun was still warm in the sky and the greenery around them made the day look so fresh.

"Very" she smiled back, giving his hand a loving squeeze.

They were back at Pete and Jackie's within an hour, showered and dressed ready to go out. Rose wore a pair of smart black jeans and a red blouse with a red frilly piece down the middle. The Doctor also wore black jeans with a plain white open collar shirt and a grey jacket.

"Don't you look smart" Rose complemented Tony as he came running towards them.

He shyly grinned at them.

"Jackie come on!" Pete yelled, also entering the hallway.

Within seconds Jackie was scurrying down the stairs trying to put her earrings in without tearing her earlobes.

"I'm here I'm ready. What do you think?" she asked Pete, giving him a quick twirl.

He gave her a quick glance.

"Yeah fine" he said dismissively.

"Fine! Fine!" she yelled heatedly.

Pete screwed up his face in regret.

"This is how it should have gone dad," Rose stated tapping him on the shoulder.

She turned to the Doctor and gave him a soft light-hearted smile and straightened herself up.

"How do I look Doctor?"

Without any hesitation the Doctor leaned forward and rested his hands on her hips.

"You look beautiful Rose."

He leant forward and placed a soft kiss on her lips.

They turned simultaneously and gave him a mocking smile.

Pete rolled his eyes before turning back to Jackie.

"Sorry sweetheart, that was insensitive of me, you look beautiful." He said, in a tone of voice that stated that he wasn't really taking this seriously.

"Thanks" Jackie replied.

The Doctor and Rose tried their best to hold back their laughter, but failed miserably.

"Shut it you two." Pete snapped causing their laughter to amplify.

They entered the pub, the sound of cheesy pop music bouncing off of the walls.

"What the hell is this?" the Doctor asked, pointing his fingers towards Rose as he attempted to dance in a humorous manner.

She laughed at him slightly shifting her eyes around the room to see if anyone was paying attention to him, much to her relief nobody was.

"It's a disco. It's just summit to keep the kids entertained really. But I promise you the music gets better later on."

"Oh stop that." Jackie ordered the Doctor, embarrassed by his 'moves'.

He immediately stopped and placed his hands in his pocket.

"Now, what do you want to drink?" she continued.

"White wine would be great thanks" Rose replied.

They both turned to look at the Doctor.

"Err… one of those Guinness thingies please."

Jackie walked away to the bar to get the drinks, leaving the Doctor and Rose to get a table. They sat down on one that had a couch type seat on one side and normal standard chairs on the side.

"So this is your local?" the Doctor asked Rose.

"Yeah, it's the only one that let's kids in so mum and dad have to come here. I mean they get evenings out on their own and that, but when they take Tony out…" she trailed off and nodded her head towards the small boy who had joined them at the table and was dancing in his seat.

They chuckled at him.

"Here we go then," Pete said, putting their drinks on the table.

They said their thanks and began to chatter amongst themselves.

"Rose? Rose Tyler?" a deep and slightly surprised voice asked from behind them.

They all looked up to find a tall blonde haired man hovering near Rose. His features were deep, they were both comforting and threatening, the Doctor felt as if this was a man he didn't want to meet, but he had no idea why.

"Oh Dr. Samuels, hi." She stood up and greeted the man with a gentle and uneasy hug.

The Doctor noticed how uncomfortable Rose looked, and he grew anxious.

"How are you doing?" the man asked.

"Great thanks, yeah, really well." Rose replied a bit shaky.

"Oh good I'm glad"

He pulled Rose slightly closer to him and lowered his voice.

"How's it all going with that Doctor man?" he asked, almost unaware that everybody could still hear him.

The Doctor looked over at Jackie and Pete, they looked away from him and down at the table. They didn't want to see his questioning and concerned face; they had been through all that once already today.

"Well actually, there's someone I'd like you to meet." She turned to the Doctor and gestured to him to come and stand by her side.

He did so, looking the man straight in the eye, he felt uncomfortable. Him and Rose shared a history that involved him, he knew that much.

"This is the Doctor" she established, placing her arm around his waist, partly to show the man that they were together but mainly for comfort for herself more than anything.

"Oh" the man said, taken aback by the revelation.

The Doctor extended his hand out to the man who took it and shook it. The shake was loose and uncomfortable. The man was clearly very shocked.

"Well it's a pleasure to meet you, sir. I've heard a lot about you. This young lady is very fond of you," he stated, offering a smile to ease the tension.

"Well I'm very fond of her." he replied, returning the smile.

The tension eased between them, but Rose still seemed nervous. The Doctor firmed his grip on her, in an attempt to let her know that everything was ok.

"So, how did you get him here?" the man finally asked.

The Doctor and Rose looked at each other.

"Oh, it's a long story, but to cut it short I crossed the void."

The man looked taken aback once again, but gave a victorious smile.

"Well, well done you. I'm glad to see you so happy."

He lowered himself to give her another hug and turned away to meet someone who was waveing him over.

Once he was out of sight, Rose sighed deeply.

" I need some air." She said, before walking out.

"Where Rose going?" Tony asked, concerned about his big sister.

"Just to go and get some fresh air, sweetheart." Jackie reassured him.

The Doctor followed Rose out of the building.

Outside Rose leant against the wall, her eyes closed, the Doctor noticed that her breathing had quickened.

"Rose?" he called, moving slowly towards her.

Her eyes flew open at the sound of his voice.

"You ok?" He asked.

She took a deep breath, trying to steady herself. The Doctor placed his hand soothingly on her cheek and cupped it. She leant into his touch and closed her eyes again.

"When I went through all the issues, you know us being parted and the attempted suicide and what have you…" she began.

The Doctor's face flinched somewhat at the mention of THAT word.

"He was my psychologist. He helped me through. Just seeing him then, it brought back memories, very shameful and embarrassing memories." She continued.

The Doctor removed his hand and placed it on her shoulder.

"Rose, there is nothing shameful about what you did, you were grieving and depressed. It's not your fault."

She looked deep into his eyes, she knew that he meant what he said and wasn't just trying to make her feel better.

"Then whose fault is it?"

He went to shake his head, stuttering as he stopped himself speaking, he wanted to say that no one was to blame, that it was just one of those things, but then he realised, she needed closure. She needed to blame someone in order to stop blaming herself.

There was a long pause as he looked desperately into her searching eyes.

"Mine" he finally answered, looking away from her and placing his hands in his pockets once again.

Rose's face became plastered in guilt, she hadn't meant for him to feel like it was his fault because it wasn't. And now he stood silent and still in his most defensive position just staring at the floor with a hint of anger and sorrow on his face.

"That's… n…not what I mean" she stuttered.

"I know, but it is my fault, this whole bloody thing." His voice was growing angrier.

And he was angry, with himself more than anything else.

"What do you mean this whole thing?"

"Well, what happened to you. Getting trapped here, the attempted… and then you travelled through God knows how many universes just to get back to me and you wind up back here with… me."

He shook his head in fury and confusion. He could feel himself getting emotional, he wanted to cry, and he needed to cry. Rose moved as close to him as he'd allow her to get and held the top of his arms, running her hands up and down them, trying to calm him.

"Doctor. I'm glad I'm back here, I'm with you and that's all that ever mattered." she reassured him, her voice hushed and soft.

He looked at her and he could no longer contain himself. Before another word could be uttered and without any control over his actions the Doctor broke down. Rose became scared, not of him but of his way of dealing with what he had found out. He was sobbing uncontrollably into his hands, pulling at his hair, as his rage grew deeper. Rose pulled him close to her, allowing him to cry into her shoulder and in return he held her tight and let her see his true emotions.

"Oh Doctor. I'm sorry." She whispered in his ear, her own eyes welling up.

"Why Rose? I could have lost you for good. We might have never got this life together." He continued to weep.

"But it's ok 'coz… 'Coz I didn't die and I'm all right now. So you don't have to think about that 'coz it didn't happen. And I promise you it never will." she replied, firming her grip on him and placing a small kiss on his temple.

She felt so guilty, she had no idea the Doctor had felt this way, she didn't realise how scared he was.

They remained silent for a while, the Doctor gradually calming down as Rose tried to relax him by running her fingers through his hair. The Doctor eventually pulled away and wiped his face with his hands, taking several deep breathes.

"I'm sorry Rose, I don't know what came over me." He said.

"Don't be sorry. I didn't realise how badly this had affected you." she replied.

"Yeah, well, I didn't want to worry you."

She moved closer to him again and wiped off the remaining wetness from his face, smiling gently at him.

"You can't keep your emotions bottled up Doctor. You're a human now remember."

"Oi, I'm only half human," he protested, smiling back at her.

"Are you angry at me for what I did?"

"No" the Doctor responded, shaking his head.

"I just hate the thought of you going through that. It shouldn't have happened." He declared, trying to control his tears once again.

Rose raised her arms and placed them around his neck. She placed her head against his and chuckled softly.

"But you've just got to think, had it not happened we probably wouldn't be here now. I probably wouldn't have gained that fight to find you. I know it's hard Doctor, but you've got to let this go. You've got to trust me." She pleaded with him.

The Doctor sighed and leant in to rest his head between her neck and shoulder.

"Everything ok?"

They heard a voice ask from behind. They turned to find Jackie's hesitant face looking at them. She walked over towards them and gasped.

"Have you been crying?" she asked the Doctor.

His eyes widened as he looked over at Rose and began to stutter slightly.

"You have haven't you!" Jackie exclaimed.

Rose laughed at the expression on the Doctor's face, a mixture of confusion, embarrassment and fear.

"Well, it's …err… been an emotional day." He said, defensively.

"Oh, you poor monkey." Jackie exclaimed again, a bit too loud for the Doctor's liking.

She pulled him into a hug and squeezed him.

"Monkey?" the Doctor silently mouthed to Rose.

She replied with a hand gesture that told the Doctor that it was the alcohol that was making her slightly stranger than she usually is.

"Come on, go and finish your drinks so you can get another round in." she said, pushing them towards the door, before laughing.

Rose sometimes secretly thanked her mum for interrupting at the most inappropriate of times, she seemed to sometimes lighten the mood and that was what they all needed right now, just some fun.


	8. Chapter 8

A couple of hours had passed and Jackie was slowly getting wasted. It didn't really bother anyone; she was quite a cheery drunk. She had shoved Rose out of her seat to sit next to the Doctor and began giving him advice on life as a human. The Doctor sat in silence occasionally nodding his head to make her feel as if she was actually being helpful.

"Oh and another thing never try and convince your kids that The Smurfs are real."

The Doctor snapped out of his gaze and looked at her in confusion.

"What? You tried to convince Tony that The Smurfs are real?" he asked her.

"Oh no, not Tony, me!" Rose exclaimed

They all laughed at the madness of it.

"When was this?" he asked Rose

"Only a couple of years ago" she chuckled.

"Well you've seen so many things out there, I just thought that you might believe it if I told you that The Smurfs were real." She interrupted, taking another sip of her drink.

"You do say some stupid things when you're drunk mother." Rose told her.

Jackie just replied with a cynical smile.

The music had changed now, from the cheesy pop to the motown and other classics. Despite this change, Tony was still happily bopping in his seat while playing with a newly made friend.

"I'll get another round in," Pete announced.

He got up from the table and made his way around the table to Jackie. Pete was less intoxicated than Jackie, but he was still tipsy non the less.

"Come on woman you're coming to help me." He declared, pulling her by the sleeve towards the bar.

"Oh, Mr. Tyler, I love it when you demand." She joked and placed a soft kiss on his lips.

They scurried towards the bar as Rose moved from her seat to the seat she was originally sat in next to the Doctor.

"Hi" she smiled at him as she sat down.

He grinned his signature smile back at her.

"Sorry bout mum, she doesn't drink that often, so when she does it really goes to her head." She apologised, trying to contain a giggle.

"Ah, that's ok. She's quite entertaining." He admitted.

"You're handling you're drink well, you know considering…" she observed.

"I've only had three."

"Yeah, but that's more than you're used to, isn't it?" she asked.

He thought for a moment.

"Yeah, I s'pose it is. Well, we'll see how I feel after this next one."

She chuckle at the thought of a drunken Doctor, and cuddled into his side. She took in his scent, it was so comforting to her, he didn't need any false odours, his innate aroma was powerful, pleasant and pleasing enough. He pulled her in a little closer to him and kissed the top of her.

"You're in my seat" Jackie exclaimed as she returned from the bar.

"No mum, you were in my seat." Rose corrected her.

Jackie simply shrugged and sat down, realising that Rose was actually right.

Pete sat down next to her and let out a big yawn.

"Tired?" the Doctor asked.

Pete nodded in reply.

"Aww, honey. We'll go after this one. I wouldn't mind getting you home." She winked at him.

"Oh, mum!" Rose protested.

"Oh, but it's ok for you to snog the Doctor at every opportunity you get."

Both the Doctor and Rose remained silent, Rose just rolled her eyes then looked away from her mother and focused on the people dancing on the dance floor.

Despite Jackie's promise an hour and two drinks later, they were still sat at the table discussing total rubbish.

"Does it really matter that The Teletubbies are different colours in this universe mum?" Rose asked her.

"Not really sweetheart, it just gets confusing at times."

The Doctor burst out into a fit of laughter. It was then that Rose realised that he was drunk. It had taken six drinks to get him into this state, not bad considering he's never really had a proper drink. Rose decided to confront him on the subject.

"Are you drunk Doctor?" Rose asked him in a jokey tone.

He shook his head vigorously before he answered.

"No. Not me. Never. Well, never say never." He confirmed.

He moved closer to Rose, a mischievous look on his face.

"God you're gorgeous." He told her, nuzzling his nose into her cheek.

Rose blushed as she remembered that her Pete and Jackie were just across the table.

"Thanks" she said, concentrating her gaze on a piece of fluff on her jeans that wasn't actually there.

"Can I have a kiss?" the Doctor whispered to Rose.

Rose felt a little tipsy herself, and she felt more confident in her actions, but she was sober enough to know that grabbing the Doctor and kissing him so hard that his teeth would fall out was not a wise thing to do in front of her mother and the numerous kids running around.

"No" she whispered back.

The Doctor's face fell.

"Why not?"

Rose leant in closer to his ear.

" 'Coz if I start I might not be able to stop."

The grin re-emerged on his face as he chuckled softly onto her neck, causing her desire to increase.

"Excuse me, nature calls." He excused himself, as he slipped away from Rose and around the corner.

As he disappeared from her sight the song changed to a slow love song.

"Oh Pete, can we dance? I love this song." Jackie asked.

He rolled his eyes, but pulled her from her seat to the dance floor. Rose sat on her own throughout the song, she felt a bit daft surrounded by couples and families who were getting up and swaying to the slow beat. Trust the Doctor to disappear at the most inconvenient of times. As the song ended he reappeared.

"Where've you been?" she asked him as he stood next to where she was sat.

"I got talking to this bloke at the bar. He wanted to sell me a goat."

Rose gave him a questioning look but the Doctor just shrugged, he didn't know why he was offered the opportunity to buy a goat.

"Where's Pete and Jackie?" he asked her, even thought he could guess what they were doing.

"Dancing" she replied.

The Doctor had a look of disappointment on his face.

"That was a nice song that was just playing." He stated, looking at Rose intently.

She nodded in agreement but kept quiet.

"Mummy" Tony called to Jackie as she returned from her dance.

"I'm tired," he continued.

She lifted him from his seat and cradled him.

"Come on, let's go home, I didn't realise how late it was." She said, as she got her jacket and headed for the door, Pete not far behind them.

The Doctor felt saddened by the fact that he had missed the opportunity to have his first dance with Rose and he could tell that she felt the same. But he would make it happen, he was determined to now.

The Doctor wrapped his arm around Rose and kept her close to him all the way home. They kept the conversation light, but Rose had to admit that the Doctor was a very funny and suggestive man when he was drunk.

Once back at the Tyler home, Pete took Tony up to his room and put him to bed.

"You two staying tonight?" Jackie asked them.

Rose glanced over towards the Doctor. He was leaning against the wall, staring at a plant pot in front of him; it was obvious that he was in deep thought.

"Yeah best had, I don't think I'll be able to get him home." She smirked.

"Ok, I'll go and set a bed up for you."

She went to go up the stairs but staggered backwards as her spinning head caused her to lose her balance.

"On second thoughts maybe I'll get Pete to do it." she joked.

Both Rose and the Doctor rushed towards her, only to find her laughing at herself.

"Don't worry about that mum, we'll sleep in the TARDIS" Rose told her.

"Oh, brilliant idea Rose." The Doctor piped up.

Jackie nodded at the decision and grabbed Pete's arm as he reached the bottom of the stairs. He helped her up and escorted her off to bed.

"Night" he called as he disappeared out of sight, leaving the Doctor and Rose looking at them in awe.

"Bless 'em," the Doctor said, as he took Rose's hand and lead her towards the TARDIS.

Inside the TARDIS, Rose was taking some time to take in everything that was going on. She had to keep telling herself, _I'm here, in the TARDIS, with the Doctor, and it's all mine._ She smiled to herself, before looking over to one of the chairs where the Doctor had plonked himself. He was smirking a rather sexy smirk at her. She couldn't help but let out a girlie giggle. He rose from the seat and held out his hand to her.

"Come with me." He told her.

Rose looked at his face, the smirk had gone and there was a hint of eagerness on his face. She moved towards him and gripped his hand, then allowing herself to be lead down the hallway. They stepped into the living room; the Doctor flicked the light on before making his way over to the CD player.

"Why exactly are we in here Doctor?" She asked him.

"You'll see" he relied.

It took him a moment to load the CD, he had sobered up a bit, but his co- ordination was still a bit off. As the music began to play he strolled over to Rose and extended his hand.

"May I have this dance Miss. Tyler?"

Rose looked at his hand then realised what song was playing. It was Bryan Adams' 'Amazed'.

"I love this song," she stated, smiling and taking his hand.

He pulled her towards him and twirled her around. He was reassured by her radiating smile. He gripped her slightly closer to him, as she raised her hands and placed them around his neck, resting her head against his.

They swayed in silence for a while until Rose decided to break the silence.

"So, are you ok? Well, are we ok? She asked nervously.

"I'm ok Rose. I just needed to get my head around it."

"So I'm forgiven?"

He shook his head and chuckled lightly. Taking his hands from her hips to her face he kissed her softly. Rose sank into it, comforted by the passion and adoration that she felt from his soft lips. They remained attached to each other as they rocked for the last part of the song, pulling away only when the music stopped and they were both in need of a full breath.

"Do you have any idea at all how much I love you?" he asked her. His voice was low, serious and desperate.

Rose stuttered a bit, not really knowing what to say. A simple I love you didn't seem enough this time.

"I desperately want you to know how much I love you, I just …can't put it into words." She admitted, looking at the floor.

"Rose, you got me here, everything you went through to get back to me. I think that shows me how much you love me." He assured her.

"Sometimes, I have to look at you, I mean _really_ look at you, 'coz it doesn't feel real, it's like a dream and I'm gonna wake up at any moment." She continued to confess.

"I know" the Doctor agreed.

He dipped his head to kiss her again.

"But it is real" he whispered onto her lips, and kissed her again, this time more forcefully.

It was the early hours of the morning by the time the Doctor and Rose had finished making love and chatting about the past and touched on the subject of their future.

"It's a good job we don't have work tomorrow" the Doctor said sleepily.

"Mm… well I think we'll get a lie in judging by mum's state this evening."

"Yeah" the Doctor laughed.

"Thank you for a lovely evening, Doctor."

"No problem" he replied, as he gave one last kiss goodnight.

Within minutes they were both fast asleep snuggled as close to each other's bodies as they could possible get. It had been a tiring day to say the least.

Rose woke suddenly, the sight of her surroundings was unfamiliar and it took her a few moments to realise where she was. The Doctor, who had been mutely sat watching Rose sleep, reached across and placed his hand on her shoulder.

"It's ok," he whispered, gently stroking her skin.

She turned her head and looked at him, her hair was all messy and her eyes were half closed from the light the TARDIS was generating. She smiled at him as she realised where she was.

"Sorry, I'm not used to waking up in this environment." She chuckled.

The Doctor shuffled closer to her and placed his arm around her.

"That's ok, I did exactly the same thing."

She chuckled at him again, before reaching down to her jeans, which were absurdly flung on the floor, and pulled out her phone to check the time.

"It's only 9.30. How long have you been awake?" she asked him, trying to straighten out her hair.

"Not long, half hour, something like that. What's the plan for today?" he asked her, as she settled back down next to him and placed her head on his shoulder.

"Sleeping" she quickly replied.

The Doctor pulled a disapproving face.

"Oh come on Rose, it's meant to be a lovely day today. Can't we go out and do something?" he whined.

Rose sighed; despite the Doctor now being human he still had plenty of energy, even after a very late night. She thought for a few moments, trying to figure out something they could do that wasn't too energy consuming.

"We could take Tony to the park." She eventually replied.

She knew that Tony would be running around like it was his last day with legs, but so would the Doctor, which meant that all she had to do was make sure that they didn't hurt themselves in the process.

"Yeah, that's a lovely idea Rose." He smiled at her.

"Great, but Doctor?" she asked, her face turning more serious.

"Mmm?"

"Can I at least get another hours kip?"

The Doctor looked down into her pleading eyes and let out a moan of defeat, before cuddling closer to her.

"You have exactly 60 minuets" he joked, smiling into her soft skin.


End file.
